No words can save him
by Emily Malfoy05
Summary: After a fight with Voldemort's followers, Ron is badly injured.


No words can save him

'Ron...'

Harry was breathing heavily. The fight had cost him a lot of strength, which felt like it was all drained out of him. Ron got badly hurt during that fight. The Death Eaters and the Inferi were hard to deal with. But Ron and Harry had enough Aurors fighting alongside of them to handle the situation. Eventually they drove the enemy away, but the price they had to pay was very high. There were a lot of wounded people and even a few victims.

Ron was now lying in St-Mungo's. A spell had hit him hard and he practically wasn't showing any signs of life anymore, the only thing you could notice was his heartbeat and his respiration. Harry was standing beside his bed trying to seek comfort out of something that wasn't there. He expected Hermione to arrive soon.  
As soon as Harry had arrived with Ron at St-Mungo's, he had sent her an owl. The note that it contained was short but accurate: Ron got badly hurt.

'Ron, hold on. Hermione will be arriving very soon. Don't give up now; you've got a whole life in front of you. She is expecting your baby. Please hold on, I know you're strong enough,' Harry whispered.

Ron gave no reaction; he was still lying there, his eyes were closed and his body was covered with bruises and cuts that had been nursed.

Harry had never felt so defenceless. He couldn't do anything now. He couldn't play the hero like he always did; he could only stand beside him, support him and hope. Harry was exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep, not with his best friend almost dying. He had to stay awake, to show him his loyalty and to be there for him. His reasoning was that Ron would do the same for him; actually, he'd done it before.

Harry collapsed in the nearest seat. The silence was overwhelming and there was no one else in the ward. The only thing Harry could hear was the muttering and the whispering from people in the hallway. Time went by very slowly. He thought about his school years, when he was carefree and had fun with his two best friends. He thought about all the times he had lain in the hospital wing and his friends were there to get him trough it. They always made him feel better and he counted them as family, the only family he had.

St-Mungo reminded him of his fifth year, when Ron's father got injured by a large snake. Harry had seen it in his dreams, and he had felt guilty afterwards. But he Arthur healed, luckily, and it wasn't his fault at all. People were actually glad he saw it, otherwise the attack would've been fatal.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to get rid of those images turning up in front of his eyes. It only made him remember the previous fight, and that was even worse than silly old school memories.

'Ron!'

Harry's eyes shot open. Hermione came hurrying towards them. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was holding a moistened tissue. Her belly was clearly visible now, as she was six months pregnant, but Harry thought it suited her very well.  
Harry rose to his feet and stepped a bit forward.

'Oh Harry, how is he?' she sighed, her breath hitching.

'I don't know, 'Mione,' he said, touching her arm, 'but I think not too well.' He almost started crying too. A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned towards Ron and touched his hand that was lying beside his body.

'Oh, will he be all right again? Harry, what happened out there?' she let out a big sob and turned her head around. Harry looked in her big, brown, teary eyes.

'Please sit down Hermione. It's better in your condition,' he said, trying to avoid the last question.

He didn't want to talk about it now. What had happened was horrible, although Harry wasn't quite sure about it yet. He needed to figure it out himself first. The only thing he genuinely wanted now was Ron to be all right.

Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away softly from Ron. Hermione followed Harry and sat down in the nearest seat. While Harry took another seat and sat down next to her, she searched for another tissue. When she found it, she wiped the tears away and Harry laid an arm around her. He knew words wouldn't comfort her now. Words had never comforted him whenever he was sad. Silence was enough, just being there to support each other, could help more than anything else.

They just sat there for a while, only sobs braking trough the captivating silence. Now and then, a healer came in to check on Ron, but he didn't give them any information at all. The only thing he told them was that he had sent an owl to the Weasleys.

After thirty minutes, the ward door opened and a few Weasleys came in. Molly's eyes were red and swollen of all the crying, and she was clutching a handkerchief in both of her hands. Arthur seemed to be in shock and completely swept off his feet. He was showing no particular emotion, but one could sense that he was sad. Ginny had teary eyes, just like her mother and when she saw Harry, she started sobbing.

They all felt so helpless. Nobody could do something to change the situation, although they rather would.

Molly and Arthur rushed straight to their son, while Ginny went to Harry and Hermione. Harry instantly got to his feet and Ginny swung her arms around him. She started crying on his shoulder and Harry ran a hand through her hair to ease her.

'Oh Harry! How is he?' she sobbed, tears moistening his wizard robes.

'I don't know, Gin, I really don't,' he whispered, his lips touching her beautiful red locks. She held onto him tighter and cried silently.

Molly was now sitting next to Hermione, holding her hand and squeezing it lightly. They were both still crying. Arthur was still standing frozen next to his son's hospital bed. He looked pale and the sadness was now written all over his face.  
They stayed in that position for a few minutes, until the doors suddenly burst open, letting Fred and George in.

'Sorry-'

'That we didn't came-'

'earlier.' they said, finishing each other's sentence.

They took a deep breath while they stopped in front of Ron's bed, both of their hands resting on their knees, bent over and clearly exhausted, apparently they came as quickly as possible.

Arthur turned around facing the twins and Molly stood up from her seat. Ginny and Harry looked up too, surprised by their sudden appearance. They were all glad to see them; it gave them some hope and support. The twins looked different now, just like they did when they heard that their father got badly injured; they didn't make you smile when you saw them, they looked serious and there was nothing funny about it.

'Oh my darlings!' Molly cried, 'You're both here now, that's what matters.' She smiled faintly and her eyes got even more watery. She gave them both a hug and took her handkerchief again, now to blow her nose. Arthur gave them both a weak handshake.

'You don't have to stand up,' Fred said to Hermione, when she rose a bit from her seat. His eyes shone a bit when he saw her belly. Harry and Ginny had quit hugging each other and now greeted the twins too. Harry gave them a quick nod and Ginny gave them both a hug.

'Is he all right?' George asked his dad. But Arthur only lifted his shoulders and shook his head as saying that he didn't know anything yet.

'I'm going to look for a Healer who can give me some information now,' Arthur said. He walked towards his wife who was now sitting next to Hermione again and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he left the ward with a quick nod.

He returned a few minutes later with a Healer alongside of him.

The news the healer brought with him wasn't good at all. Ron was very weak, on the edge of life and death and they couldn't heal him, as they couldn't figure out which spells were used on him. Harry closed his eyes forcefully and bit down a sob. The news was worse than he had expected and he wasn't at all prepared for it. Guilt was overwhelming again and he felt like explaining it to them all. But he couldn't when he sensed the tension. He simply couldn't do it. Somewhere inside of him, he realised that it wasn't his fault at all, but still he felt responsible. His fists were clenched beside his body and when he opened his eyes and looked round the room, he saw everybody's emotions. It wasn't anger, or shock as he'd expected; it was pure sadness and helplessness. Hermione was holding her belly, and stroking it absently. She was staring at nothing in particular and it seemed like she couldn't quite get it.

Then he looked at the twins. They had the same, struck reaction on their faces. Then he looked at Ron's parents. Molly had stood up and was hugging her husband and comforting him. But the worst to see was Ginny. Her eyes were big of pure shock and fear. Harry tightly hugged her, trying to forget the horrible pain.

This was worse than he ever experienced. He couldn't compare any of his pain to this. Of course, he'd lost Sirius and Dumbledore, but they weren't what Ron was to Harry. Ron was his best friend. He had always been there for Harry and he'd known him for over 9 years. Seeing Ron die, was the most horrible thing ever. Worse than all the other terrible things he'd gone through.

They all tried to cope with the news. The healer had left them alone. Arthur had summoned up several seats and they were now all relaxing in the chairs. They all wanted to stay there overnight, but that wasn't possible, so they all left around eleven. Only Harry and Hermione stayed.

'What are we going to do now, Harry?' Hermione said softly. She was lying down in a couch and Harry was sitting in a seat next to her. The ward was lit by a few candles, giving just enough light to keep it cosy and nice.

'I don't know,' Harry answered and he let out a sigh. 'but we can't give up hope yet. He's still got a chance to survive. He will survive, we know he can.' His eyes were staring at Ron, who was still lying there lifeless. Once a while, you could see his chest rise a bit, but it went down as quickly as it had risen.

The image of Dumbledore's funeral was spooking in Harry's head. Soon he'll have to do the same for Ron, although he really wished the opposite. Ron was going to be al right. Harry knew he had the will to make it and he wouldn't leave Hermione alone. He'd want to see his firstborn child.

'Harry, the chance is very few. We must prepare ourselves to it.' Hermione sounded determined and Harry couldn't talk back. It was hard for him to accept that Hermione had given up hope and that she was preparing herself for what may come.

'Hermione, we mustn't give up hope yet. He will make it.' He tried to change her mind, but he knew it was futile.

'I think I'm going to call my baby Ron,' she said softly. 'well, if Ron, you know, doesn't make it.' Her voice was trembling. Harry didn't know what to answer. If Ron survived… A long silence followed. Neither of the two said something; what would they say anyway? No words could heal the pain and the sadness they felt.After a stirring and exhausting night, they both fell in a deep sleep. In their dreams they could not be touched and they could not feel the pain they were experiencing in the present. It wasn't real after all. Harry was hoping the present could be a dream too - well, a nightmare then. But reality and dreams are not to be mixed. Sometimes dreams become reality, but sometimes reality becomes a nightmare. When would this nightmare end?

'So, how are you going to call him?' Harry asked softly. Hermione had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy.

'Ron.'


End file.
